


Traditions

by UnsealingKale



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Childhood, Christmas, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sick Character, Sickfic, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 03:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnsealingKale/pseuds/UnsealingKale
Summary: Thirteen year old Rhett can’t skip a Christmas tradition, even if his best friend is sick.





	Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first R&L fic! It’s a little bit late for Christmas, but better late than never. It can be read as a bit shippy or as just friendship, it’s up to you. It hasn’t been beta read. I’m also not sure if I did okay with the tags, but hopefully I did.
> 
> Warning: This fic mentions vomiting, but it’s not described beyond some gagging.

“Ring,” Rhett whispered, as he stared at the telephone. He’d been sitting by the phone for over an hour, waiting for his best friend to call, but he was starting to give up hope as the minutes continued to tick by. “Ring. Please ring.”

“Why don’t you call Link?” his mom suggested as she walked into the room. She looked at him with a little smile. “Maybe he’s busy playing with his new toys and time got away from him.”

“No. That can’t be it.” Rhett heaved a sigh. “He’s supposed to call me, mom. He always calls me.” He knew that he sounded like a whiny young child and not like the thirteen year old teenager that he was supposed to be, but he didn’t care. Every year since he’d known Link, they had done their Christmas tradition. After they both woke up early, ripped open their presents and took stock of their new possessions, Link would call him so they could share the news and make plans to meet up. “Something must be wrong.”

“Maybe he’s still asleep,” his mom suggested, shrugging. “Call him and see. You’ll feel better if you know what’s going on than if you just keep waiting here by the phone.”

Rhett shook his head, but picked up the phone anyway, holding it to his ear to hear the dial tone. He punched in Link’s number and listened as it began to ring.

“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered on the fourth ring. It was Link’s mom, Sue.

“Hi,” he said, forcing a cheerful tone in his voice. “Is Link there?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rhett, but he can’t come to the phone right now. He came down with a bad fever last night, and he hasn’t been feeling well. He didn’t even get up to open his presents this morning.”

“Oh,” Rhett said, his voice soft as his heart sank. “Okay. Well, um, have him call me when he feels better please.”

“I will. Merry Christmas, Rhett.”

“Merry Christmas,” he echoed, as he hung up the phone and sank back into the couch cushions. He always saw Link on Christmas. Now what was he going to do?

—————

Two hours later, Rhett found himself walking the familiar path to Link’s house with a plastic container of his mom’s chicken noodle soup in his hands. He had managed to talk his parents into letting him go as long as he promised just to drop off the soup and hurry back home. He had agreed to the condition easily. After all, he just couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing his best friend on Christmas, even if it was only for a few minutes. 

He knocked on the front door and smiled when he heard footsteps inside. The door swung open, revealing Sue with a puzzled look on her face. “Rhett? What are you doing here? I told you Link’s sick.”

“I know. I brought some of my mom’s chicken noodle soup for him. It always makes me feel better when I’m sick.” Rhett held the container up for her to see, the contents sloshing inside. “Is he feeling any better yet?”

Sue shook her head. “I’m afraid not. He’s still in bed. He was throwing up half the night.” She wiped a hand across her tired face. “Why don’t you come in and put the soup in the fridge? I’ll tell Link you’re here, but you’d better stay away from him. We don’t want you catching whatever bug he’s got.” 

She held the door open wider, and Rhett stepped inside, taking note of the familiar small Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and the unopened gifts below it. He went into the kitchen and put the soup up in the fridge, frowning when he saw a half eaten peanut butter sandwich sitting beside the half gallon of orange juice. Link hadn’t eaten his dinner the night before either, it seemed. Rhett wondered how long he had been feeling bad. He had seemed normal enough the last time they were together, two days ago.

“Thanks, Rhett. I’ll be right back,” Sue said, as she headed in the direction of Link’s bedroom. Rhett shifted on his feet, feeling strangely out of place in the familiar room. He usually wasn’t left all alone in the space.

He was considering sitting down at the kitchen table when the phone range, shaking him out of his thoughts. Sue came back into the room, moving quickly to get to the phone in time. “That’ll be my friend Pam,” she said, as she brushed past Rhett. “I’ve got to get this. Link is still asleep, but maybe you can see him tomorrow if he feels better.” She waved Rhett off as she picked up the phone, twisting the cord around her fingers. “Pam? Hi! How have you been? Oh, I was just…”

Rhett turned out the conversation and took a step towards the front door, and then another, and another. But then he stopped and looked back at Sue, who was facing the other direction as she talked. He knew that he should leave, but he couldn’t go without seeing Link. It was Christmas. Everyone said that he had a cast-iron stomach anyway, the exact opposite of Link’s extra sensitive one. Surely he wouldn’t catch whatever it was that his best friend had.

He walked lightly as he slipped into the hallway, his feet padding on the carpet. He turned Link’s bedroom door handle in slow motion and pushed the door open even slower, silently willing the hinges to be silent.

The air inside Link’s room was sour with the smell of vomit, and Rhett held his breath for as long as he could as he approached the bed, and then let it out in a long sigh. Link was curled up on his side, half covered with a blanket. Rhett could barely make out his features in the darkness, but he was sure that Link was indeed asleep.

“Link,” he hissed, and watched for signs of movement. “Hey, Link. You awake?”

“Mmm.” Link groaned and shifted under the blanket, bringing one hand to his stomach. “What?”

“It’s me,” Rhett breathed.

“Rhett?” Link’s hoarse, sleepy voice asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Your mom told me that you were sick, so I brought you some chicken noodle soup. Are you hungry?”

Link coughed and then gagged, one hand flying to cover his mouth. He sat up in bed and gestured for Rhett to hand him the garbage can that sat on the floor beside his bed. He gagged into it once, twice, and then took a deep breath. “Rhett, please don’t- Don’t mention food right now.” He moaned. “I can’t- Ugh.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Rhett said as his own stomach flipped, his cheeks growing warm with shame. He should have known better than to ask a question like that. “I really didn’t mean to.”

“S’okay,” Link rasped, as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Did you throw up?”

“No. I think I’ve already thrown up everything in me.”

Rhett put a hand on Link’s shoulder and noticed that he felt warm to the touch even through his pajamas. “You okay? I mean, really?” 

“No. I feel horrible, and I’m probably infectious,” Link said, as he shook his shoulder to loosen Rhett’s grip. “You really shouldn’t be here.”

Rhett didn’t let go right away, Link’s weak movements doing nothing to push his hand away. “I’ve got a strong immune system, Link. Don’t worry about me. Here, give me that.” He let go of Link’s shoulder and took the garbage can. He put it back on the floor, and then he sat down on the bed beside Link. “I was really worried about you when you didn’t call me this morning.”

“Sorry about that,” Link said, with a shrug. “I didn’t open my presents yet, so I couldn’t tell you what I got. What did you get?”

“How about I tell you after you’re all better? We can exchange our gifts then too,” Rhett offered, as he reached to feel Link’s forehead. Link’s dark hair was plastered to his scalp with sweat, but Rhett brushed his fingers through the tangled strands anyway. “You’re burning up.”

“Feels like I’m freezing,” Link said. “And I’m sooo tired.”

Rhett continued to run his fingers through Link’s damp hair. “Then I’ll leave so you can get some more rest.”

“Don’t leave. Could you just…” Link held his arms out, reaching for Rhett. “I don’t want you to get sick, but…”

“Of course,” Rhett said, as he gently pulled Link into his arms for a hug. He didn’t need Link to say it to understand what he wanted. This was something that they always used to do when one or the other was upset or wasn’t feeling well, but as they’d grown older, they had done it less and less. Their friends thought they were weird when they did things like that.

Link sighed as he rested his head on Rhett’s shoulder, the tension leaving his thin frame.

“Want to lie down?” Rhett asked, and smiled when Link nodded against his shoulder. They shifted together to lie down on the bed, and Rhett adjusted the blankets to cover Link’s body. “Comfortable?” he asked, as he pulled Link closer. He was careful to drape his arm over Link’s hip rather than his stomach. Link wrapped an arm around him in turn and snuggled just a bit closer, his nose brushing against Rhett’s neck.

“Yeah. You’re all nice and warm.” Link’s voice had faded into a whisper. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Rhett rubbed Link’s back as they lied there in the darkness, cuddled up together.

“Feels good,” Link mumbled, his warm breath wafting across Rhett’s neck and chest. 

“Shh, just relax,” Rhett said, as he continued to rub circles on Link’s back. “I’m here if you need me.”

It didn’t take long for Link to fall back to sleep after that, and soon Rhett was listening to his friend’s soft snores as their chests rose and fell in tandem.

The moment didn’t last long because Sue came to check on Link when she got off the phone. “Are you awake? I brought you some water to sip on,” she said in a half-whisper, as she pushed open the door. The light from the hallway illuminated the bedroom and cast shadows everywhere. “Wh- Rhett? You’re not supposed to be here. I thought you left twenty minutes ago.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Rhett untangled himself from Link and stood from the bed without protest. He immediately missed the feeling of Link’s smaller body against his, but he shook it off. “I just really wanted to see him,” he said. “It’s Christmas.”

“Well, you’d better get on home now. I hope you won’t get sick,” Sue said, a warning in her voice. “Tell your mom we said thank you for the soup.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rhett said. “Please have Link call me when he feels better.”

“I will,” Sue agreed. “I’m really glad he has a friend like you, even if you should know better than to be around him when he’s sicker than a dog.”

Rhett nodded, but inside he knew that no illness in the world could keep him away from his best friend’s side. Link needed someone to take care of him when he wasn’t well, and Rhett wanted to be that person. He reminded himself that one day, when they were older, no one would ever be able to make him leave Link’s side again.

The walk home felt shorter than the walk to Link’s house had. Rhett was already thinking up plans for when Link felt better. He wasn’t sure what they would do, but as long as they got to spend some of their winter break together, he’d be happy. He thought maybe he’d hug Link the next time he saw him too, just to make sure that Link knew how much he cared.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please review if you want to. It would mean a lot, since I’m new. :D


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